Steve Nash's Secret Diet + NBA Eating Habits

Yesterday came the news that the Lakers had landed future Hall of Fame point guard (and all-around amiable Canadian dude) Steve Nash from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for a boatload of future draft picks.

Despite being 38 years old (the fifth oldest active player in the NBA), Nash last year had one of the strongest showings of his 15-season career, averaging at least a double-double per game. Nash might seem like the equivalent of a Porsche 911 with 250,000 miles, but from all angles it appears he has kept himself in near-mint condition -- not to mention the fact that he has played in 85% of regular-season games for over a decade. So how does a guy like that keep the tires fresh and the oil clean?

Nash adheres to a pretty strict diet year-round (Squid Ink gave him top honors in last year's Top 5 Athlete Diets list). In a rather lengthy Facebook post from 2009 he details his basic eating manifesto, which includes consuming six small meals a day, cutting out gluten, sugar, fats and processed foods and loading up on fruits, veggies, baked fish or chicken, and a whole lot of green tea (he's sensitive to dairy, too, contrary to the picture above). He even wrote an article for Men's Journal on how he cut white sugar completely out of his diet.

Nash recruited several of his Phoenix teammates to the diet, including 39-year-old Grant Hill, Jared Dudley and, most famously, Shaquille O'Neal, who actually coined the term "the Nash Diet" during a television appearance (this is the same guy who once videotaped himself being tempted by a box of Krispy Kremes).

The former Suns franchise star likely will be thrilled by L.A.'s huge collection of juice bars, vegan nutrient stores and farmers market produce. There's even a good chance the "Nash Diet" will become the next big thing among Hollywood actresses looking to slim down before awards shows.

The real question is whether Nash's dietary regime will have an effect on his new Laker teammates. We're pretty sure Kobe subsists solely on a diet of Gatorade energy gel packets, and it's well-documented that Pau Gasol (as the team's resident foodie) is very attached to his tapas. Which might leave the Roscoe's-loving Metta World Peace as the main candidate for a nutritional conversion. Could a name change to something like Metta Gluten-Free Antioxidant be far off?

The one tragedy is that the man who could really use Nash's dietary advice, Lamar "The Candyman" Odom, is now playing for the cross-town Clippers. Well, at least Blake Griffin abstains from red meat.

Garrett Snyder is a food writer and cookbook author based in Los Angeles whose work has appeared in outlets such as the L.A. Times, Los Angeles magazine, Tasting Table, Punch, GQ and KCRW. He enjoys tiki drinks and Taco Tuesdays.